WASHINGTON — A player batting almost .400 is the driving force behind the Washington Nationals' offense. And his name isn't Bryce Harper.

Second baseman Daniel Murphy is the player swinging the hot bat. He has picked up where he left off last season during the New York Mets' run to the World Series and taken his game to another level.

Murphy is hitting a major league-best .394 two months into the season and has nine home runs and 34 RBIs.

“He's been great all over,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. “He just keeps doing his thing, and we're going to help him keep doing his thing. We're glad we have him.”

Expectations were high for Murphy given his big October and three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Nationals. But few expected him to lead the majors with 78 hits this far into the season and be Washington's offensive catalyst.

Murphy, 31, was selected Thursday as National League Player of the Month. His 47 hits in May tied the franchise record for a month, a mark shared by the Montreal Expos' Al Oliver and Marquis Grissom.

That's impressive company, but nothing compared with wondering whether Murphy could be the first player to hit .400 for a season since Ted Williams in 1941.

“Right now, he's not thinking about hitting .400,” Baker said. “He's not thinking about anything other than the simplest form, each at-bat, each inning at a time.”

Murphy, like many superstitious players, is reluctant to talk about his hitting. He chalked up the hot start to “good fortune” and said he's having a blast because the Nationals are in first place and he's getting hits.

“They're falling right now,” Murphy said. “I'm in another good lineup, here in Washington. I'm swinging the bat well. We're all playing well right now, and I think we put ourselves in a really good spot.”

Murphy is a major reason for that, along with the pitching of undefeated Stephen Strasburg and the hitting of catcher Wilson Ramos.

And while the possibility of hitting .400 over a full season is daunting, it's not so crazy to think Murphy could win the NL batting title. He's up 52 points on Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.

“Murph has given me his best, plus some,” Baker said. “Instead of worrying about, ‘When is it going to stop,' it's just, ‘Give me some more, keep it going.'?”